Africa’s Best Golfers Shoot for Bitcoin Prize on Sunshine Tour

Top golfers from Africa and Europe will be eyeing lucrative Bitcoin (BTC) payouts at the end of the 2022 season following a new sponsorship of South Africa’s Sunshine Tour.

In the year-round season, golfers compete for first place on the Sunshine Tour’s overall standings – the Order of Merit. Crypto platform Luno, which has a large footprint in South Africa and the wider African continent, has taken the title sponsorship of the overall ranking.

Money talks in the sport, but language is certainly evolving, with Luno pushing aside Rand-based pricing for the best golfers on the Order of Merit in favor of Bitcoin. The golfer who tops the Luno Order of Merit will receive R500,000 in BTC – equivalent to $31,000 or 30,000 Euros at the current exchange rate.

The second and third placed golfers will receive R200,000 and R100,000 in BTC respectively, while Luno will also sponsor each professional golfer on BTC’s Sunshine Tour R1000 to encourage them to explore the fair’s mobile application.

The Sunshine Tour is also using the new sponsorship to make a change to its ranking system, shifting from a money-based to a points-based ranking from May 2022. Earn at the end of the season.

There’s plenty to play for too – with the number one spot also including entry to two of the golf Majors in the US Open and British Open, as well as a year-long sponsorship of luxury vehicles.

Cointelegraph attended the sponsorship announcement at the prestigious Houghton Golf Club in the heart of Johannesburg and spoke with Marius Reitz, Luno’s general manager for Africa, who has facilitated a number of sports-focused marketing campaigns over the past year.

“It’s important on a number of fronts, firstly the fact that there is Bitcoin prize money, which is a first for South Africa and probably Africa,” Reitz said, adding: “I think it’s the first sports sponsorship in South Africa is involving a crypto company.”

Luno plans to break new ground with their first professional golf tournament sponsorship, with Reitz highlighting the synergies between the two:

“The Sunshine Tour is an established brand, they are the home of golf in South Africa. It is a trusted guide for golfers from young ages to professional levels. The association of trust and security makes sense to us.”

Luno has made an effort to position itself as a trusted cryptocurrency exchange introducing new users to the ecosystem using a learning portal. The company caused a stir last year with a high-profile advertising campaign in which Rugby World Cup-winning Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus teaches users how to buy BTC.

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The company has now continued its exploration of the sports industry in the country – a point that Sunshine Tour commissioner Thomas Abt says will benefit both industries in kind:

“I think it’s fantastic when a new brand comes into the space. They have a strong background, they want to make noise and they did it as you saw with the Rassie ad. They have done well and I am sure they will continue with the Sunshine Tour.”

The impact wasn’t lost on the golfers either, with Sunshine Tour pro Callum Mowat also drawing comparisons between the mindset needed to master both the worlds of golf and crypto:

“As a golfer you have to take risks and you also have to believe that you are never out of the game, especially after a bad shot. I am not that familiar with cryptocurrencies, but I know you need patience to master both .”

Reitz also acknowledged that the cryptocurrency space is still relatively in its infancy, with onboarding new users and teaching basics a primary focus. The Luno Africa GM said a focus on learning and education is key as it slowly introduces a wider audience to cryptocurrencies through avenues such as sports sponsorship and marketing campaigns:

“Golfers think differently, they have a different way of looking at risk and reward – with every shot they play, they have to take calculated risks. It is the same in crypto. It’s still new and for people to start using it in their daily lives it takes a mindset change and it doesn’t happen overnight.”

The sports industry continues to be a tempting avenue for cryptocurrency exchanges, service providers, and companies to advertise their offerings. Crypto brands are actively involved in the biggest football competitions in the world, on the canvas of the octagons of the UFC and around various circuits on the global Formula 1 roadshow.